Rome diocese 'troubled' by expose on gay priests

An Italian magazine cover story on gay priests with pictures of them cavorting in Rome nightclubs sparked a "troubled" reaction from the Roman Catholic diocese which said it did not condone the behaviour.

"Those who live a 'double life', who do not understand what it is to be a Catholic priest, should not become priests," the diocese said in a statement after the Panorama expose hit the newsstands.

The cover shows a man's hands adorned with pink fingernail polish and draped with a rosary, folded over a priest's robe. The expose titled Gay Priests' Nights on the Town offers details on their "vices and perversions" obtained over a month of undercover reporting with hidden cameras.

The Rome diocese pledged to pursue "with rigour any behaviour that is unworthy of the priestly life".

It added: "No one obliges them to remain priests and keep enjoying the advantages. Consistency demands that they reveal themselves.

We don't wish them any harm, but we cannot accept that the honour of all the others is dragged through the mud because of their behaviour."

Panorama is owned by the Mondadori publishing group controlled by Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi.